First Round Recap

Following an exhilarating 7-game series win over the Blackhawks, Blues fans are finally basking in a playoff series victory over their hated rivals and dreaming of bigger things moving forward.  Before we move on to the second round against Dallas, I wanted to take a chance to look back at the thrilling series that just ended.

• When you think about, the Blues beating the Blackhawks makes perfect sense.  Last fall, the Cubs (who basically haven't won anything in forever) knocked the highly decorated, championship pedigree Cardinals out of the playoffs.  So, it's only fair that the Blues (who have literally never won anything in forever) returned the favor by knocking the highly decorated, championship pedigree Blackhawks out of the playoffs.
• My son is 13 and this was only the Blues second playoff series win in his lifetime, which is hard to believe.
• For a while now, this year's addition of the Blues has tried to distance themselves from the failure-prone, snake-bitten Blues teams of the past.  They told anybody who would listen that this team was different.  And, while they nearly gave us a heart attack in the process, they proved it (so far) in beating the Blackhawks.  Consider:
• The Blues got screwed by some very questionable officiating calls in Game 2 and, while they lost that game, they bounced back and won Game 3 in Chicago.  Previous Blues teams would have allowed those bad things to have carried over from one game to the next.
• The Blues again were on the wrong end of some horrendous officiating in Game 4.  Hawks goaltender Corey Crawford went berserk and attacked 20 year old Robby Fabbri because Fabbri had the audacity to bump into Crawford after being checked into him by Toews,  Through that situation, the Blues somehow - against all logic - wound up shorthanded.  Of course, the Blackhawks scored on that power play.  Past Blues teams would have folded like a cheap suit after that turn of events and would have never recovered.  However, this year's team bounced back from that injustice and roared back to win that game.
• After blowing a two goal lead for the second game in a row in Game 7, the Blues fought back and got the victory - another game that previous Blues teams wouldn't have won.
• How good are Blues' rookies Colton Parayko and Robby Fabbri?  Parayko is a workhorse who can play a lot of minutes and doesn't seem phased at all by the pressure of the playoffs.  During the regular season, he posted the Blues' best +/- rating (+28) since Chris Pronger's epic 1999-2000 season when he won both the Hart and Norris trophies.  With his demeanor, size and booming slapshot, this kid seems destined to win a Norris Trophy of his own if he can continue his outstanding play.  And Robby Fabbri, who is about my size, plays much bigger.  He doesn't back away from contact (even when being accosted by deranged goalies) and delivered some big hits in the series.  He had a really good offensive year during the regular season (37 points) and has continued to display that creativity and skill in the playoffs thus far.  Keep in mind, he's only 20.
• If there's one moment that might (hopefully?) signal a change in the fate of the franchise, it's the shot by Brent Seabrook late Game 7 that hit both goalposts but somehow didn't go across the goal line.  In years past, that shot would have gone against the Blues and it would have broken the hearts of Blues fans.  But, for now at least, the hockey gods smiled on the Blues and kept that puck out of the net.   
• While winning a playoff series is always sweet, it was so much sweeter to do it against the hated Blackhawks.  It was a thrilling, nerve wracking series - but those are always great....if you come out on top.  In my opinion, this was the best Blues playoff series since the 1999 first round series against the Coyotes.
• Nobody knows what the future holds for the Blues - if this is their year or if they will stumble again like so many teams have in the past, but for now, I'm just going to enjoy the fact that the Blues are still skating while the Hawks are playing golf.
• For the second round, I think the Blues match up really well against the Stars.  While Dallas has some great offensive players - Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, etc. (though Seguin is still battling injuries), I'm not sure that they are any tougher to slow down than the elite players that the Blackhawks threw at them.  But whereas the Blackhawks have some very good defensemen (like Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook) and a top flight goalie (Corey Crawford), the Stars have a suspect defense and questionable goaltending, regardless of which Finn is between the pipes.  The Blues' physicality and depth will prove to be too much for the Stars, so my prediction is Blues in 6.  LGB!